Our Lady of Revenue: NYC churches go on the market, leaving parishioners cynical
Rick Hampson
NEW YORK (RNS) Our Lady of Vilnius Church, built by families of immigrant Lithuanian longshoremen, started out a century ago as a beloved worship space. Now, its a coveted real estate asset.
In 2013, six years after the church was closed, it was sold for $13 million to one of the citys biggest developers. The following year, that company flipped it like a pancake to another developer for $18.4 million.
Now the yellow brick church near the entrance to the Holland Tunnel awaits demolition to make way for an 18-story luxury apartment house.
It makes you cynical, says Christina Nakraseive, a former parishioner who supported the legal case against the church closing until it was rejected by the states highest court. It seems like its all about real estate.
http://www.religionnews.com/2015/03/03/lady-revenue-nyc-churches-go-market-leaving-parishioners-cynical/